(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Marvel Comics has had to apologise and alter its latest comic release after one of its artists made hidden references to an ongoing political controversy in Indonesia.
The imagery included by Indonesian Muslim Ardian Syaf, a freelance contributor to Marvel, was called “bigoted” and he was accused of “spreading hatred” by social media users. Some even saw anti-Semitic sentiment in his artwork.
The first issue of Marvel’s latest X-Men Gold series was released in early April. The entertainment giant has since said it will take the offending references out of subsequent print editions, as well as take disciplinary action.
The artist has also spoken to Indonesian media following the controversy, saying while he was expressing a political view, he was not trying to spread hate.
